Working in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services, the White House has tried desperately to rope in big name backers of the Affordable Care Act — from A-list celebrities to sports teams — to market the law’s healthcare exchanges to Millennials. But according to a new study, their multi-million dollar efforts have been much to no avail.
As the Oct. 1 launch date of the law’s healthcare exchanges looms, one of the key factors of Obamacare’s “low-cost” health insurance is young Americans enrolling in these marketplaces. According to the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein, 2.7 million 18- to 35-year-olds need to register for Obamacare’s marketplaces to keep the price of premiums low. But, as a new study from the Commonwealth Fund demonstrates, only 1-in-4 Millennials have heard of these exchanges.
“The survey findings demonstrate just how critical outreach and education will be to inform young adults about their new options,” Commonwealth Fund’s study states. “Only 27 percent of 19- to 29-year-olds in the survey were aware of the marketplaces.”
Additionally, despite President Barack Obama’s continued praise of the Affordable Care Act providing insurance to those previously not covered, a mere 19 percent of those identifying as uninsured at some point during the year know about the marketplaces.
“Lack of awareness was lowest among those who were uninsured during the year…” the study goes on to state.
With the clock winding down to the launch of the marketplaces, HHS and the White House have attempted to reel in multiple high-profile entities to convince young people to enroll in both state-run and federal marketplaces. Administration officials met with a host of actors, actresses and entertainment-industry big wigs earlier this summer, encouraging them to use their clout with Millennials to spread the word about the marketplaces.
And as millions of Americans continue to express skepticism over Obamacare — and unawareness about marketplaces, too — HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is briefing her own employees on the law over brown bag lunches.
“I heard Secretary Sebelius is holding brown bag lunches to explain the exchanges to her own staff,” Raffi Williams, deputy press secretary for the Republican National Committee, told Red Alert Politics in an email. “Maybe she should invite young Americans too.”
